16 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN RAILWAYS ANALYZED 



UNITED RAILWAYS OF THE HAVANA 



The bumper Cuban sugar crop this year and the high prices at which it is being sold will 

 be of immense value to the United Railways of Havana. The company is essentially a sugar 

 carrier, although in recent years efforts made to cultivate other sources of income have met 

 with marked success. Roughly speaking, about 40% of the total sugar production of the 

 island is transported over the system, and the revenue derived therefrom constitutes some- 

 thing like 30% of the company's total gross receipts. 



The nature of the freight traffic and the importance of sugar to the company's prosperity 

 will be seen from the accompanying table: 



1912-13 1911-12 1910-11 1909-10 1908-09 



Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons 



Suear cane 4,376,391 4,058,652 2,714,008 3,244,463 2,618,133 



Sugar raw 848,611 691,695 450,409 636,031 534,214 



Molasses 182,837 170,514 141,044 183,823 146,704 



Alcohol 9, 354 7,392 4,027 2,222 1,735 



Total sugar cane and products . . . 5,417,193 4,928,253 3,309,488 4,066,539 3,300,788 



Coal 195,234 193,803 149,070 134,509 92,542 



Firewood 117,973 118,374 123,586 108,427 89,316 



Native woods 94,198 94,637 91,793 73,509 57,600 



Charcoal 61,639 54,989 53,885 51,473 47,538 



Stone, tiles, bricks 119,377 90,206 111,554 100,046 71,092 



Fresh fruit 34,765 29,760 19,753 21,407 33,023 



Tobacco 22,577 15,649 14,258 20,924 17,818 



General merchandise 646,594 547,243 557,647 549,288 409,685 



Miscellaneous 40,353 47,602 59,352 50,212 39,926 



Total public traffic 6,749,903 6,120,516 4,490,386 5,176,334 4,159,326 



This year's sugar crop is the largest ever gathered in Cuba, and already amounts to some- 

 thing like 2,500,000 tons, as against 2,300,000 tons in 1913— the previous record. Moreover, 



Sugar warehouse on the banks of the San Juan River, Matanzas. 



